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AIM OF THE EXPERIMENTS
With these experiments, we aim to understand the following with respect to timbrel vault construction:
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1. The technique and practical aspects of such construction
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a. Getting familiar with pop as mortar, it’s setting time, consistency, ways to handle it, etc.
b. Constructing the vault without centering, in thin air, using guides to maintain curvature.
c. Understanding other construction challenges that are specifically related to such construction.
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2. The economics of such construction
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a. Use of resources in terms of money, time and human effort
b. Comparing the resource usage with that of conventional roofing techniques
c. Understanding economic feasibility to therefore gauge whether this type of construction is a sustainable replacement for conventional construction
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3. The structural aspects of such construction
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a. Explore structural properties that are imperative in the stability of such structures
b. Understanding different force systems in masonry structures and the significance of form and geometry on strength
c. Studying material properties and understanding what are suitable and unsuitable and how such properties play a role defining the strength of the structure.
d. Using structural understanding to arrive at optimum use of resources for a stable construction.
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Building a prototype of our final design and checking for load bearing capacity of the vault while developing systems for construction.
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Experiment to check whether an arch can stand stable under self weight without centering.
EXPERIMENTS
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Specifications of materials used in the experiment with quantities and approximate costs to extrapolate the economics of such construction.
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Our first set of trial and errors, understanding working with PoP and its challenges. Learning how to build a vault in air using guides and no shuttering.